Paige leads No. 20 UNC past UAB, 89-58

Kennedy Meeks added 14 points and Justin Jackson had 13 for the Tar Heels (9-3), who never trailed and led by as many as 36 while shooting 50 percent.

C.J. Washington had 12 points and Robert Brown added 11 for the Blazers (4-9). They were just 3 of 25 from 3-point range and lost their third straight.

Jackson, a freshman, had his best game since scoring a season-high 18 against Davidson on Nov. 22.

He scored 11 in the first half and hit his first two 3-pointers since a win over Florida six days after the Davidson game, with those coming during the burst that put North Carolina up by 20. In his previous five games, he was 0 for 11 from long range.

The Tar Heels had been off since their 82-74 win over Ohio State a week earlier, were playing their first home game since Dec. 7 and had a bit of a score to settle with UAB — which upset them last year in Birmingham.

They sure didn’t get much of a test from a Blazers team that already had been beaten by a UNC-affiliated school — Division II UNC Pembroke in an exhibition last month.

The Tar Heels took control early after forcing UAB into a remarkably awful start: The Blazers hit one bucket during their first 10 possessions — but failed to even draw iron during any of the other nine.

Jackson had five points during the Tar Heels’ game-opening 15-2 run that gave them a comfortable working margin the rest of the way.

Then, he helped them break the game open shortly before halftime. North Carolina hit three 3s during a 70-second span, it was 1 for 8 from 3-point range to that point. After Jackson hit two, Paige connected from the left corner to push the lead into the 20s for the first time at 40-19.

UAB was never closer than 21 points in the second half.

TIP-INS

UAB: The Blazers fell to 0-4 against ranked teams. The other three losses all came in the Battle 4 Atlantis by an average of 17 points.

North Carolina: The Tar Heels improved to 88-4 in nonconference home games under Roy Williams.